I’m Baaa-aaak!

It’s hard to believe, but the last day I posted to this blog was May 14, my mother’s birthday.  I had no particular desire or intent to stop writing here, but I was trying to stay focused on the one writing project that had kept me awake at nights for the longest time: a memoir of the years my family and I spent living off the grid. So, although I wrote every chance I could get, my blogposts went unwritten.

Drumroll, Please

At last, I have completed a working draft of what I call my land memoir.  There is still lots of editing to do, but having reached that goal, I feel that I can return to writing short pieces again without taking myself off track. So here I am!

News of the Munchkins

A bit of catch-up news: – my first granddaughter (Bean) is now eight years old. How time passes! I pick her up from school a couple of days a week and spend several hours with her. She’s a wonderful companion and keeps my dining room table covered in art and craft projects – most recently eight different batches of slime and, on a different week, fabric squares which she masterfully worked into a coverlet for her dolls (with help from Aunt Barbara).

Bean and Barbara making a quilt

But she has a very rich life away from Grandma, too. Over the summer she went to skateboard camp, anime drawing class, swimming lessons, basketball camp, and Life Lab. She also continued Taikwando and junior roller derby — and learned to knit!

My other three granddaughters, known affectionately as “the babies,” are now three years old, – definitely not babies –  and quite outspoken about their needs and wishes (“Alexa, play Elmo.”). Adored by their parents and grandparents, how could they be anything but well-adjusted and resilient? One has recently graduated from baby dance class to a “real” ballet class, and practices her positions with great concentration. Another attended a bluegrass festival last week and informed me that next year she wants to “camp in a tent.” She then turned to her mother and reminded her that “there were tents there.” And the youngest of the three, who celebrated her third birthday just last week, likes to FaceTime me at 7:00 a.m., before I’ve even finished my first cup of coffee.

And so, my life is rich and full, but moving away from the daily lives of these adorable munchkins.What shall I do with all my time?  I shall write. I already meet with a group of writers at Shut Up and Write! for two-hour intensive writing sessions two or three times a week. I also attend two critique groups where trusted colleagues provide helpful feedback on my work in progress. While working on the memoir I developed the routine of rising at dawn to write, so I’ll continue that schedule to work on my novel and a couple of nonfiction ideas I have. Writing is like a drug  – the more one writes, the more one wants to write. I attended the Central Coast Writing Conference in Morro Bay last weekend, and I heard that over and over. It’s such a gift to have this much time to write. As many of your know, my three published books were all written around the edges of a very busy life raising four children and working.

But while I’m staying close to home and writing right now, I am also looking forward to my next adventure – a journey with my dog Kismet around the United States. In preparation for that, I recently purchased an RV! Sheila the Silver Bullet is my new project. I drove her home from the dealership in LA two weeks ago, and drove back down again the next weekend for my youngest three-year-old’s Safari-themed birthday party.  I  have begun outfitting her for travel. I’m also mapping out my route, soliciting suggestions for places to visit, and thinking positive thoughts that my PMR will lift in time for me to leave next September. I will keep you posted.

I have lots more to tell you.  Stay tuned.

Marlene

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